Canvas Frames on their Own

Warehouse Stationery had a sale before Christmas and I went a bit crazy, and bought three different sizes of frames.

Again these are intended to be used reversed, so that the frame becomes a solid battle-board border, and the canvas becomes the board.

Each comes ready to use, which means that my first task involves a circular saw, getting rid of the light wooden interior supports.

Next, I gesso the reverse of the canvas. I buy a mid-size pot from Warehouse Stationery, big enough that I can use a 3″ brush, which makes the work a pleasant single afternoon.

Next, I buy a tinted exterior-quality paint from Bunnings. The tint I select is reminiscent of natural linen, though maybe greener than that. A few hours work and the base colour is all done.

The drying paint tends to pull the canvas and bow the frames, so I prop the larger couple with the cut interior struts. Once dry they seem to have kept their original rectangular shape.

The next stage is to subtly dapple with more definite greens and browns, but I’m still thinking what I want each to look like, given that there won’t be much that is interchangeable between them. So I’m holding off for now while I think about shades and roads and rivers.